Preparing for the Rain on Iwo Jima Isle follows the life and military service of Marion Frank Walker, who was born and raised in a peaceful small town in southern Indiana during the Depression years. Frank was just 16 years old when America received that now legendary "wake-up call" on December 7th, 1941, as planes from Japanese aircraft carriers bombed and torpedoed the U.S. naval fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. In Frank's words, "The world as we knew it changed overnight." Thus began the U.S. military involvement in World War II. Eager to serve his country, Frank managed to graduate from high school mid-term of his senior year, and at 17 years old became a proud member of the U.S. Marine Corps. The desire to serve and protect his beloved country would soon send him to the bloody battlefield of Iwo Jima. At 19 years old, he crawled through the volcanic ash that had turned purple from the blood of his fallen comrades, and saw gruesome sights that no person should ever have to witness. Frank is in the posed picture of the flag raising at Iwo Jima as photographed by Joe Rosenthal. He went on from there to become a part of the occupation force at Fukuoka, Japan. After reading of his experiences during this deeply troubling time in history, Frank and his surviving comrades only ask that the people of America remember the sacrifices that have been made for their freedom and that their fallen comrades be remembered.

'This book drips with adventure and intrigue' THE AGE In 1963, Australian Army Captain Barry Petersen was sent to Vietnam. It was one of the most tightly held secrets of the Vietnam War. Petersen was ordered to train and lead guerrilla squads of Montagnard tribesmen against the Viet Cong in the remote Central Highlands. He successfully formed a fearsome militia, named 'Tiger Men'. A canny leader, he was courageous in battle, and his bravery saw him awarded the coveted Military Cross and worshipped by the hill tribes. But his success created enemies, not just within the Viet Cong. Some in US intelligence saw Petersen as having 'gone native' and were determined he had to go, by any means possible. He was lucky to make it out of the mountains alive. THE TIGER MAN OF VIETNAM reveals the compelling true story of a little-known Australian war hero. Now part of the HACHETTE MILITARY COLLECTION.

In this classic biography of composer Giuseppe Verdi, Frank Walker reveals Verdi the man through his connections with the individuals who knew him best. "Walker focuses on some of the more significant people in Verdi's life and carefully scrutinizes his relationships with them. His wife, Giuseppina Strepponi; his student and amanuensis, Emanuele Muzio; the conductor who first fully understood Verdi's mature art, Angelo Mariani; the great prima donna, Teresa Stolz; the incomparable librettist and friend of his old age, Arrigo Boito-each passes before our eyes in Walker's meticulous reconstruction. As we learn more about them, we learn more about Verdi. We see him through the eyes of his closest friends, we watch his daily activities, his daily thoughts, his habits, his warmth, his domestic tyranny. The myth dissolves and a human being stands before us."-Philip Gossett, from the introduction

The extraordinary revelations in Traitors detail the ugly side of war and power and the many betrayals of our ANZACs. In October 1943 Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Josef Stalin signed a solemn pact that once their enemies were defeated the Allied powers would 'pursue them to the uttermost ends of the earth and will deliver them to their accusers in order that justice may be done'. Nowhere did they say that justice would be selective. But it would prove to be. Traitors outlines the treachery of the British, American and Australian governments, who turned a blind eye to those who experimented on Australian prisoners of war. Journalist and bestselling author Frank Walker details how Nazis hired by ASIO were encouraged to settle in Australia and how the Catholic Church, CIA and MI6 helped the worst Nazi war criminals escape justice. While our soldiers were asked to risk their lives for King and country, Allied corporations traded with the enemy; Nazi and Japanese scientists were enticed to work for Australia, the US and UK; and Australia's own Hollywood hero Errol Flynn was associating with Nazi spies. After reading this book you can't help but wonder, what else did they hide?

Swashbuckler, daredevil racing-car champion, Winter Olympian, gambler, smuggler, scoundrel, stud and suspected spy - this is the fascinating story of the scandalous Freddie McEvoy. Born in Melbourne in 1907, Freddie's life took him from socialising with a young Errol Flynn in Sydney and on to the French Riviera in the heady years leading up to World War II. With his dashing good looks and charm, Freddie lived a swashbuckling life, quickly figuring out his path to easy fortune was through lonely rich women. World War II didn't stop Freddie's hedonistic pursuits - he skipped enlistment for Australia and Britain to party on in Hollywood, where he renewed his friendship with the now infamous Errol Flynn. Always short of cash, Freddie smuggled guns and diamonds on his yacht between California and Mexico and was rumoured to have worked as a spy. It was a life lived large and Freddie's death in 1951 was under the most mysterious circumstances off the coast of Morocco: his body was found naked and scalped . . . Frank Walker, bestselling author of The Tiger Man of Vietnam and Maralinga, has for the first time uncovered the complete, outrageous and incredible true story of Freddie McEvoy, Australia's daredevil Lothario. 'Freddie was one of the great livers of life. He lived it the way he saw it - he didn't give a hoot.' Errol Flynn 'Pleasure is my business.' Freddie McEvoy 'an extraordinary yarn . . . finely researched' Sun-Herald on Frank Walker's Ghost Platoon

Preparing for the Rain on Iwo Jima Isle follows the life and military service of Marion Frank Walker, who was born and raised in a peaceful small town in southern Indiana during the Depression years. Frank was just 16 years old when America received that now legendary "wake-up call" on December 7th, 1941, as planes from Japanese aircraft carriers bombed and torpedoed the U.S. naval fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. In Frank's words, "The world as we knew it changed overnight." Thus began the U.S. military involvement in World War II. Eager to serve his country, Frank managed to graduate from high school mid-term of his senior year, and at 17 years old became a proud member of the U.S. Marine Corps. The desire to serve and protect his beloved country would soon send him to the bloody battlefield of Iwo Jima. At 19 years old, he crawled through the volcanic ash that had turned purple from the blood of his fallen comrades, and saw gruesome sights that no person should ever have to witness. Frank is in the posed picture of the flag raising at Iwo Jima as photographed by Joe Rosenthal. He went on from there to become a part of the occupation force at Fukuoka, Japan. After reading of his experiences during this deeply troubling time in history, Frank and his surviving comrades only ask that the people of America remember the sacrifices that have been made for their freedom and that their fallen comrades be remembered.

Extracted From The Proceedings Of The Unitarian Historical Society V13, Part 2, 1961.

'Utterly gripping. It reads like a thriller.' JON FAINE This edition contains a new author note with shocking new material that has come to light as a result of the groundbreaking original publication. Investigative journalist Frank Walker's MARALINGA is a must-read true story of the abuse of our servicemen, scientists treating the Australian population as lab rats, and politicians sacrificing their own people in the pursuit of power. During the Menzies era, with the blessing of the Prime Minister, the British government exploded twelve atomic bombs on Australian soil. RAAF pilots were ordered to fly into nuclear mushroom clouds, soldiers told to walk into radioactive ground zero, sailors retrieved highly contaminated debris - none of them aware of the dangers they faced. But the betrayal didn't end with these servicemen. Secret monitoring stations were set up around the country to measure radiation levels and a clandestine decades-long project stole bones from dead babies to see how much fallout had contaminated their bodies - their grieving parents were never told. This chilling expose drawn from extensive research and interviews with surviving veterans reveals the betrayal of our troops and our country.

An associate of Benjamin Franklin and hero of the American War of Independence, John Paul Jones was the first captain to sail an American warship under an American flag and was instrumental in the creation of a coordinated naval force for the new republic. Across the Atlantic, the Scotch Renegade has a far less enviable reputation, being most commonly remembered as a privateer and villain due to his daring raids on British ports. Frank Walker charts the career of this rugged individualist, from his beginnings as a young naval apprentice in the Scottish port of Whitehaven and initial voyages aboard slave ships; to his commission as an American naval officer who led an attack on this very port and continued to harass British shipping interests as part of the effort to bring the War of Independence to a close. His battle off Flamborough Head remains the longest continuous naval engagement in British naval history. An extraordinary interlude saw Jones fighting for Russias Catherine the Great against the Turks. 125 years after his death, his body was exhumed from an obscure grave in Paris and at the behest of Theodore Rooosevelt placed in an extravagantly decorated sarcophagus at Annapolis. Interrogating numerous contemporary sources, this book gives an accurate and balanced account of the life of this controversial and fascinating character.

In October 1943 Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Josef Stalin signed a solemn pact that once their enemies were defeated the Allied powers would 'pursue them to the uttermost ends of the earth and will deliver them to their accusers in order that justice may be done'. Nowhere did they say that justice would be selective. But it would prove to be. TRAITORS outlines the treachery of the British, American and Australian governments, who turned a blind eye to those who experimented on Australian prisoners of war. Journalist and bestselling author Frank Walker details how Nazis hired by ASIO were encouraged to settle in Australia and how the Catholic Church, CIA and MI6 helped the worst Nazi war criminals escape justice. While our soldiers were asked to risk their lives for King and country, Allied corporations traded with the enemy; Nazi and Japanese scientists were enticed to work for Australia, the US and UK; and Australia's own Hollywood hero Errol Flynn was associating with Nazi spies. The extraordinary revelations in TRAITORS detail the ugly side of war and power and the many betrayals of our ANZACs. After reading this book you can't help but wonder, what else did they hide?